A render of the up to 100,000 space-based data centers Orbital has proposed to help meet growing AI demand on Earth. Credit: Orbital
TAMPA, Fla. — Five-month-old startup Orbital has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to deploy up to 100,000 data center satellites, aiming to bring 10 gigawatts of computing power from space to meet rising artificial intelligence demand.
The filings submitted June 24 add a few more details for a constellation the Los Angeles-based venture first outlined earlier this month, when it emerged from stealth with $5 million in pre-seed funding ahead of a demonstration mission next year.
They include plans to deploy 100-kilowatt-class satellites in low Earth orbit at altitudes of 500-850 kilometers, with solar arrays and radiators spanning around 100 meters and a dry mass of 1.5-2.5 metric tons.
Similar to orbital data center plans filed earlier this year by Starcloud and Cowboy Space, the startup said the primary data path for its Orbital Datacenter System would rely on optical intersatellite links with third-party constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink.
